The devil returns
by MistyMae
Summary: Someone returns from Serena's past in America and wants revenge for something she did. Can the staff of Holby help her?
1. Chapter 1

Henrik Hanssen watched as Serena Campbell took a seat at the oval table, glancing up at the projector as she did. She seemed frazzled, nervous even. He continued to observe her for a few seconds before Professor Elliot Hope drew his attention back to the screen of the projector.

"Glad you could make it, Ms Campbell," Elliot welcomed her warmly before continuing with his presentation on the pioneering work from Hertzig device that he had created.

Serena was obviously not paying attention. She was fidgeting and unable to sit still. Henrik could sense the nervous tension coming off of her body and clearly so could Michael Spence who was sitting beside her.

"Everything okay?" He whispered and received a quick nod from the woman in question.

Henrik was glad to see the two of them were getting along. He had had his reservations as to whether they would ever be able to settle their differences.

There was a knock at the door and Elliot paused, watching as Chantelle Lane poked her head into the room. "I'm so sorry to interrupt," she said sweetly. "Ms Campbell, the police are here to take your statement," she said, looking a bit confused as to why they needed to speak with her.

Serena just nodded and excused herself from the room as quickly as possible without making eye contact with anyone.

"What the hell was that about?" Michael asked as soon as the door was closed.

* * *

Serena took a step back, relieved the police had left and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a few seconds. They felt heavy and were stinging, as though she'd been up all night. Technically, she had been. She could fall asleep right there if not for the tight knot in her stomach. She actually felt physically sick.

"Ms Campbell?" Jac Naylor approached from the staircase.

She nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry," Jac quickly apologized, slightly taken aback. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no," Serena managed to croak. "I'm just a little jumpy today."

"Is everything alright?" She came to stand in front of the older woman.

"Everything's fine," Serena answered with a tight smile.

"So that whole drama with the police this morning was nothing?" Jac asked with some sarcasm in her tone.

"Absolutely," Serena answered, masking her expression.

"Okay," Jac nodded, clearly not buying it.

"I'm needed on AAU," Serena said, turning to leave.

"If you're sure you're okay," Jac watched her head up the stairs. There was clearly something very wrong. The woman was as tough as nails, but she couldn't hide her anxiety. Or her blood shot eyes. Either she had had a long booze filled night or something had happened. She felt the urge to find out. Contrary to what she had heard about Serena, she had only ever been kind and gracious to _her_.

* * *

Michael waved Serena over as she stepped onto the AAU. "I need a second opinion," he said.

She was happy to be distracted and immediately headed over to him.

"Mr Anderson here," Michael motioned towards the short little man sitting on the stretcher. He had pinched, almost rat like features and was heavily tattooed with piercings. "Says he experienced severe stomach cramps – to the point where we thought it might be appendicitis but it appears to have disappeared. I'm trying to get him to go for a scan in any case but he claims there's no point. Would you please help me explain to him that if it is in fact appendicitis, that it is extremely important to get it checked out?"

"It's important," Serena replied, looking at the man. She was a bit disappointed by the simplicity of the case. "If your appendix bursts, you could die."

"I'm fine now, thank you, _Ms Campbell_," the man answered, his eyes fixed on her.

Serena felt her blood run cold and had to physically restrain herself from backing away from the patient. "How do you know my name?"

"Can we speak privately?"

"Uh, no," Michael interrupted. "You came in here because of an emergency and I am your doctor today."

"I really think you should hear what I have to say," he looked at Serena who nodded in agreement.

"It's okay, Michael," she said.

"Serena, he's my patient."

"Michael," Serena said. "It's fine."

Michael observed her for a second before returning to the nurses' station, watching them closely.

"Who are you _really_?" Serena turned her attention back to the man in front of her.

"Let's just say I'm the messenger," he whispered. "Adelaide wanted me to tell you that he's been thinking of you and your friend; James Williams."

"How nice for him," she said sarcastically.

"He's had thirteen years to think of you," the man ignored her. "And nothing else. He wanted me to tell you that he's coming to see you."

"Am I supposed to be surprised?"

"I don't know what you did to him, but he is mad as hell," the man got to his feet and leaned in as close as he could to her. "If I were you, I'd be afraid."

"Hey," Michael called to him. "Back up."

The man lifted his hands in defense and smirked as he strolled to the exit.

Serena just stood there watching him disappear through the doors.

"What was that about?" Michael came to stand beside her.

"It was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing. And what was with the police this morning?"

"My neighbours had a break in," she lied.

"And the police had to make a special trip to come and see you for that?"

"I heard noises and they needed my statement," she watched the suspicious look in Michael's face.

"Right," he said.

* * *

Serena had worked through lunch. Her stomach couldn't handle any food. She feared if she consumed anything, she would end up bringing it back up within seconds. Her hands were trembling slightly and she felt light headed, but kept putting it down to stress.

"Ms Campbell," Henrik Hanssen joined her at the nurses' station where she was updating one of her patient's files.

"Mr Hanssen," she greeted, glancing up at the man and then finishing writing her thoughts on the paperwork.

"I haven't had a response to my earlier email," he said, watching her frown.

"I'm sorry?"

"The email regarding the surgeon's conference?"

"I haven't checked in a while," she answered with a hint of irritation.

"I do require an answer. I've been requested to send the names of everyone attending by the end of office hours today."

Serena dropped her pen and looked up at the tall Swede. "Where is it and when?"

"In three days time and it's in Glasgow."

"That's too short notice," she answered without even thinking it over.

"I'm not sure whether anyone else can go and we do need someone representing Holby there."

"Well, I can't go," she tossed the patient's file onto the stack of other folders.

"Ms Campbell?" A nurse called from the other side of the station.

"What?" She heard herself snap.

The nurse flinched. "Uh, there's a phone call for you from St James."

"Okay, thank you," she said, giving her an apologetic smile.

Hanssen watched her take the phone and answer. He wasn't finished with her yet, so he waited patiently for her to finish, wondering what St James would be calling her for? Hopefully not to offer her a job. As tough as she could be, she was a great asset to Holby City.

"What?" He heard her whisper, noticing her body tense up even more. She fell silent. Moving very slowly around the station, he tried to get a look at her. All the blood had drained out of her face and she looked quite ill. "Thank you," she said as she replaced the receiver.

"Ms Campbell, are you feeling alright?" Hanssen heard himself ask, moving closer towards her. She didn't answer, just clung onto the counter with one hand and leaned against the wall with the other. She suddenly turned and headed towards the store room. She didn't even bother to close the door entirely, she didn't have the energy to do it. Instead she reached out and held the cupboard to steady herself. She felt as though someone had physically pulled the rug out from underneath her and that she was falling.

"Ms Campbell?" Hanssen stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He was aware of the connotations that came with being alone in a darkened storage room with another member of staff, but at that moment, he was more concerned for Serena's well being. He had never seen her look that pale before. "Is something the matter?" He asked, moving closer to her.

"James Williams is dead," she heard herself say and the thought made her want to be sick.

Hanssen had heard that name before. He was a general consultant at St James and he was certain he had heard that the man had worked in America for a few years before returning to the UK. "You worked together?" He asked, but had already gathered as much.

Serena nodded.

"I'm sorry," he replied gently. "How did he die?"

"He was murdered," she answered. The word tasted bitter in her mouth.

"Murdered?" Hanssen said with surprise.

"Yes, that's what I said," she snapped.

Hanssen wasn't sure why the staff at St James had felt Serena needed to know about the untimely demise of Mr Williams, but it had obviously rattled her. "If you need to take the rest of the day off, I'm sure Mr Spence and Mr Levy can cover for you."

"I don't need the day off," she answered, turning to face him. "All I need is . . . to get back to work."

Hanssen could tell by the look on her face that there was something much deeper, but he decided it was not his place to press her for information. "If you change your mind," he said gently. "You are more than welcome to do as I suggested."

"Thank you," she smiled, brushing passed him.

"Ms Campbell?" He called just as she opened the door. "Does this have anything to do with the visit from the police this morning?"

She observed him for a moment before answering. "The hospital is covered," she answered. "Don't worry."

"I'm asking out of concern for _you_," he said sincerely.

"I need to get back to work," she turned around, leaving him in the dark.

* * *

The rest of the day had passed as quickly as it had started. Serena had barely had time to come up for air. She didn't want to think of James. The staff nurse at St James had said that he had been strangled in his garden. She couldn't help but wonder if that had taken place before or after Adelaide King had killed her cat and left its mutilated body outside her front door with an arrow written in its blood pointing to her house. The police had taken the threat seriously, but she hadn't mentioned Adelaide. Up until she had met his little 'friend' she wasn't even entirely sure that he had had anything to do with it.

She stepped out into the cold midnight air, thanking her lucky stars that her daughter was in Canada with her grandparents. She wouldn't be able to hide her concerns from Eleanor.

She started making her way to her car which she had parked towards the back of the car park seeing as Michael Spence had stolen her parking space. Her heels crunched on the frosty patches that had formed.

Reaching her car, she pressed a button to unlock it and tossed her handbag into the passenger seat, still deep in thought as she climbed into the driver's seat. She sat still for a moment, trying to remember the last time she had spoken to James. It must have been nearly five years ago. They had always gotten along famously, but work and their personal lives had caused them to grow apart. She could still remember how hard he had laughed when she had told him she was moving back to the United Kingdom. He had said she would find it difficult to go back to working within the NHS. He had been right. She reached around for her seat belt, pulling it over and clipping it into place before turning the key in the ignition.

"Ms Campbell," came a deep voice from the back seat.

Serena froze, glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" The voice hissed.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"I'm here to destroy you like you did me," he said as he reached forward, wrapping his hands around her throat and squeezing as tight as he could.

Serena felt her throat close and tried desperately to pull his hands away from her, to no avail. He was much stronger than she was. She could feel her vision start to blur and reached down to press the horn of the car, desperately trying to draw attention to them. She could feel darkness start to take cold of her as she struggled to breathe. Pressing down on the clutch, she shifted the gear into drive and stomped down on the gas as hard as she could.

* * *

Henrik Hanssen had finally finished for the day. He stepped out into the cold air just as Antoine Malik did. "Mr Malik," he greeted.

"Mr Hanssen. Heading home?"

"Absolutely. It's been a long day. How have you been managing on Kellar?"

"We're a little short staffed, but not too badly. We had a bit of an interesting case today."

"Oh?" Hanssen turned to look at him.

"Yeah, there was this . . ." Malik paused as he heard a loud screech of tires and noticed a car race passed, heading straight for the security booth. He watched helplessly as the car ploughed head first, smashing into the concrete wall. "Oh my god."

Hanssen dropped his brief case and was running at full speed along with Malik to the car. The front of the vehicle had been smashed in and the windscreen was shattered. He pulled the door open, shoving the air bag aside before pausing as he realized who was in the car. "Mr Malik!" He called. "Get a stretcher!" He reached down to hold Serena's head still. She was not moving and blood was gushing from her head.

"Serena!" Malik called, watching in horror as her blood poured over Hanssen's bare hands.

"Stretcher!" Hanssen called as a group assembled to gawk at the accident. As Malik ran to get help, Hanssen could have sworn he heard movement at the back of the vehicle, but his focus was on Serena. Little did he know that the devil was escaping.


	2. Chapter 2

Henrik Hanssen waited with Serena as Malik rushed to get assistance. He could feel her warm blood running down his arms and was desperately trying to keep her head still in case she had damaged her neck or her spine in the accident. He heard her mumble something. "It's okay, you're going to be fine, Ms Campbell," he tried to reassure her.

Glancing over at the passenger's side, he grimaced at the sight. The whole one side of her car had been crushed inwards. Had her daughter been in the car with her, she would have been dead. He could help but wonder what had happened. It looked as though she hadn't even tried to brake.

Malik arrived quickly with a few emergency staff members who were all ready to assist. "Right, let's get Ms Campbell out quickly and carefully," Hanssen ordered.

It took them about ten minutes to remove her as carefully as they could from the car. She was still only semi conscious. Hanssen had decided to take charge of her case himself. Something told him to stay on.

Serena briefly remembered hearing Hanssen's voice after she woke up. She felt liquid running down her head and could only imagine it was blood, but she couldn't keep awake and drifted off to sleep again. She regained consciousness for a few seconds as they wheeled her into the hospital entrance. She remembered seeing Chrissie Levy's worried face and heard Michael Spence whisper something to her before passing out again.

She quietly awoke to a darkened room, immediately feeling the uncomfortable feeling of wires sticking into her skin. It must have been the IV drip. The right side of her face had swollen up, possibly from when she struck her head against the window directly after impact. It felt like she had swallowed a cactus. Her throat was on fire. Trying to sit up, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Try not to move too much," came Michael Spence's voice. "You need to try and stay still."

"How's my car?" She managed to ask with a raspy voice.

"Uh, well, that's another story right there," he smiled. "You're gonna need a good story for your insurance company because I find they don't tend to accept 'I had a bad day and decided to attempt suicide by car' as a good excuse."

Serena almost laughed, grimacing at the pain emanating from her rib cage.

"Yeah, that seat belt really left a bruise," Michael motioned to her ribs. "You're lucky you didn't break anything."

"No kidding."

"You wanna tell me what happened?" He pulled a chair up and took a seat as close to her as possible.

"Brakes didn't kick in," she said. "I meant to brake _before_ the wall."

"Well, this is why doctors shouldn't joyride."

Serena chuckled softly. "It wasn't a joyride."

"I knew you hated it on AAU, but this is taking it to a whole new level."

"Ah, Ms Campbell," Hanssen said as he stepped into the room. "Glad to see you're conscious."

Serena glanced up at the man and noticed the blood stains all over his crisp light blue shirt. "Sorry," she said.

"For what?" Hanssen raised his eyebrow.

"Your shirt," she pointed.

"That's quite okay," Hanssen glanced at Michael, making it clear he wished to speak to her alone.

"Right, I'll be right outside," Michael got up and headed out the door.

"I thought you'd be going home, Mr Spence," Hanssen said.

"I think I should just hang around here for a bit," he said before exiting the room.

"It will never understand human nature," Hanssen said out loud.

Serena gave him a questioning look.

"Nothing," Hanssen smiled gently. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days," Serena smiled back

"I can imagine," he said, glancing at her head. "Ms Campbell, would you care to explain what happened tonight? One minute you were heading home and the next you were racing into a brick wall. Now, I don't observe you leaving Holby everyday, but I am quite certain you don't drive that erratically usually."

"Of course not."

"Then what happened?"

Serena took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to explain.

"Are the bruises forming around your throat part of the reason?" Hanssen suddenly observed the hand prints that had formed on her skin.

Serena quickly touched her throat, remembering how close she had come to being one of Adelaide King's victims. "There was someone in my backseat."

Hanssen watched her closely before taking a seat in the chair that Michael had vacated. "Should I contact security?" He asked, knowing that under normal circumstances, it wouldn't even be a question, but something was different here and he could feel it.

"It would be pointless," she said quietly.

"And why's that?"

"He wasn't in my car after the accident?"

"There was no one there but you."

"Then he's long gone."

"Who is _he_?"

Serena swallowed hard, trying to clear her throat.

"Here," Hanssen poured her a glass of water and helped her drink it.

"Adelaide King," she finally said. The name seemed to roll off her tongue.

Hanssen paused, watching her carefully.

"James Williams and I worked together to try and save the lives of his son and wife. They had been injured in a drunk driving incident. His wife was pretty much gone as soon as she got to us. The internal injuries to her were . . . significant. The boy was in no better of a condition, but we pulled him into theater and tried everything we could to stop the bleeding, but we couldn't. The damage was too extensive."

Hanssen had been listening closely. "He blamed you for their deaths?"

"He felt we hadn't done enough. He made a formal complaint against us and Mr Jimmy Benson who had worked alongside us. It all got rather unsavoury. There was an inquest which found us not guilty. Adelaide King didn't take it well. One morning, he waited in the car park and shot Jimmy Benson with his shotgun at point blank range. We didn't even have time to get to him; he died right there. Adelaide was arrested and sentenced to thirteen years in prison."

"And now he's out?"

"It appears so."

"And he's here in the United Kingdom?"

"So it turns out," she answered.

"And you saw him in your car?"

"I tried whatever I could to get him away from me."

"I'm going to have to contact the police and beef up security here."

"This doesn't affect the hospital."

"Like hell it doesn't," Hanssen heard himself scold her. "You're lying in bed with injuries that could have been much more serious, a murderer has attacked you on our premises and you're telling me it doesn't affect the hospital?"

"Well, when you say it like _that_," she mumbled.

"And James Williams?"

"I have reason to believe Adelaide went to 'see' him first."

"And now he's dead."

"That's right," she answered with a haunted look.

"I have no choice but to contact the police. But before I do," he said, getting up to close the door. "I want you to tell me _everything_."

* * *

Michael Spence and Antoine Malik stood outside the hospital, sipping coffee and watching the tow company tow Serena's car away.

"Has she said anything about what happened?" Malik asked.

"Not a word," Michael said. "I don't know what she was thinking. Did you see anything?"

"Only her crashing into a concrete wall," Malik said.

"I knew something was up with her – she wasn't as cocky as she usually is. And the fact that she didn't even once try to insult me today?" Michael nodded. "That should've been a huge red flag."

"You don't think she could've been trying to . . . you know . . . off herself . . . do you?"

"Of course not," Michael snapped. "Serena Campbell is like the poster woman for strength and . . . like femininity and stuff."

"Yeah, I guess," Malik agreed.

"Maybe there was a problem with her brakes or something."

"I've never seen someone that keen on getting the hell out of here," Malik said.

"Hey," Michael walked over to where the accident had taken place. "I thought they got Serena out of the front seat."

"We did," Malik said, joining him.

"Then where does this blood come from?" Michael pointed to a small trail that lead onto the grass.

Malik took a closer look. "Maybe it's not related."

"It's too fresh not to be related."

"Wait, you think someone was in the car with her?"

"I don't know."

"Gentlemen," Hanssen called from the entrance of Holby.

They both turned to their superior who was standing with Holby City's head of security. "What's going on?"

"Move away from the crime scene, please," Hanssen called to them.

"Crime scene?" They both said in unison.

"That's right," Hanssen answered.

"Since when did it become a crime scene?" Michael asked, walking up to Hanssen.

"Since we have ascertained that someone may have been in the back seat of Ms Campbell's car."

"And that's why she drove into a wall?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Malik said. "Unless he was threatening her."

"Let's leave the deductions and investigations up to the police, shall we?" Hanssen walked away from them.

"This just got real," Malik looked at Michael with wide eyes.

* * *

He was lying nearby in the undergrowth, keeping an eye on what was going on. The blood had already coagulated around his face and had turned hard. His hands were clenched into fists. She had really taken him by surprise. Who knew someone like her had it in her to fight back like that? He was going to make her pay. He would kill her for what she'd done to his family.


	3. Chapter 3

Jac Naylor peeped into Serena Campbell's room. She had heard about the accident and thought it would be appropriate to make an appearance. She didn't want to wake her though, so she took a tentative step inside, trying to see if she was sleeping or not.

"I'm awake," came Serena's voice.

Jac suppressed a smile as she closed the door behind her and stepped nearer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, considering," Serena smiled.

"You look terrible."

"Well, thank you."

"So, what actually happened?" Jac leaned against the wall.

"What have you heard?"

"The rumour mill is in overdrive. Either you went crazy or you're just a typical woman driver."

"Typical woman driver?" Serena raised an eyebrow. "You should know better."

"Well, that's why I came up for you when I heard that one."

"Thank you."

"So," Jac finally took a seat. "Does this have anything to do with Hanssen beefing up security or the police this morning?"

Serena observed her for a moment. "There might be a connection," she admitted.

"What connection?"

"It appears someone I upset in the past has come to take his revenge."

"I imagine you've managed to upset quite a few people over the years," Jac said flatly.

Serena gave Jac a wry smile, obviously not taking her comment personally.

"So, why has this _particular_ man got a problem with you?"

Serena waited for a few seconds before answering. "Because he thinks I killed his wife and son."

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Michael threw his hands up at Hanssen. "I mean, are you actually _kidding_ me?!"

"Mr Spence, try to contain yourself," Hanssen warned, glancing around the canteen.

"There's a murderer trying to kill one of your consultants," Michael said. "And you're not a little bit concerned?"

"Of course I am concerned for Ms Campbell's safety. That's the reason we have implemented new security protocols and increased security. All I am asking is that you respect the protocols."

"Well, it's not like I have much of a choice, but . . ."

"In the mean time," Hanssen cut him off. "I will be dealing with the police and assisting in their investigation."

"Hey, you said this guy comes from America," Michael said.

"That's correct."

"So, how would he be able to travel here with a criminal record?"

"Fraudulent documents, perhaps? Perhaps he had a contact over here."

Michael was quiet for a second as he remembered what had happened in AAU earlier. "Oh, wait a minute," Michael rubbed his forehead. "Wait a minute."

"What is it?" Malik asked, clearly eavesdropping.

Hanssen turned the younger man with a disapproving look.

"There was a guy in AAU earlier. Damn, I _knew_ he was faking."

"What does this have to do with . . ."

"He came in and immediately clocked Serena. He must've come in to speak to her and he got all up in her face."

"Ms Campbell didn't mention this."

"Yeah, he wanted to speak to her privately. I knew something weird was going on."

"You don't think . . . that was the guy, do you?" Malik asked in shock.

"Nah, she didn't look like she recognized him."

"Do we have any details on this man?"

"Probably walked in under a false name, but I bet Serena can shed some light on the situation. I'll go find out what he said to her."

"No, let me go," Hanssen stopped him. "I'm the one she confided in."

* * *

He moved along with the emergency team, pretending to be with the young woman they were rolling in on a stretcher. He was touching her hand, pretending to care. The truth was, all he wanted was to get inside. He had noticed the increase in security. They obviously thought that that was enough to keep him away. He had to hurry. The police would most certainly be there soon. Just like they had been thirteen years ago when he killed the other doctor who had murdered his wife and son. If they had just waited another few minutes, he would have had time to find the others and end their lives too.

He quietly moved into an open store room as the emergency team turned a corner. Closing the door, he grabbed some clean linen and began wiping at the blood around his face. "Don't worry, honey," he said out loud. "I'm going to make her pay for what she did to you. She'll never hurt anyone again." He could picture his wife smiling at him.

* * *

"Ow," Serena grumbled as she tried to get out of bed.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Jac said, standing nearby, ready to catch Serena if she fell.

"We're both doctors," Serena replied, reaching for the clothes that she had forced Jac to get for her. "If anything happens, I think we're well equipped."

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly and everyone's going to blame me?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Serena disappeared into the tiny bathroom to get dressed as Jac plopped herself down on the empty bed. She should've put up more of an argument, but Serena was quite a formidable opponent. She had practically forced her to go and fetch clean clothes from her locker. Or at least that's what she's say to Hanssen when he reprimanded her for assisting in this madness.

There was a brief knock at the door and then it opened revealing the person Jac was dreading to see. "Mr Hanssen," she said.

Hanssen glanced at her, then at the empty bed and then back at her again, raising his eyebrow. "Ms Naylor, where pray tell is Ms Campbell?"

"Uh," she glanced towards the bathroom. "She's in the bathroom."

He watched her for a moment. "Am I to assume you are both up to something?"

"Not at all. She's just . . ."

Jac was cut off as Serena stepped out, still buttoning her blouse. "It's so good to get out of those awful hospital gowns."

Jac smiled sarcastically and averted her gaze to the floor.

"Ms Campbell," Hanssen watched her.

"You could've _warned_ me," she turned to Jac who just shrugged.

"Yeah, because that wouldn't look suspicious at all," Jac smirked.

"I don't believe you've been given the all clear yet," Hanssen ignored the banter.

"Well, I hate being in hospital beds."

"Mr Spence says you had a visitor this morning."

"You told _Michael_?" Serena snapped.

"It seemed only fair seeing as this now involves everyone in the hospital."

"Great," Serena sighed. "Yes, there was a man in earlier who claimed to be a friend of Adelaide King's and he practically told me that I was to be receiving a visit from him."

"And you didn't think to tell me this?"

"Oh, sorry, it must have slipped my mind after being unconscious and bleeding _from the head_," she answered sarcastically.

"The police are on their way," Hanssen said, glancing at Jac. "I'm presuming you've been informed on the situation?"

"Yes," Jac nodded.

"And yet you were still going to assist Ms Campbell to leave the hospital?"

"Hey, I was only helping her get out of hospital gown. Nothing more."

Hanssen was about to say something when the sound of the fire alarm stopped him. Now what? He thought. "I need to see to this."

"I'll stay here," Jac answered.

"I hope I can count on you to keep Ms Campbell here for the moment and out of trouble."

"I don't need a babysitter," Serena rolled her eyes.

"Yes," Jac answered to Hanssen and then turned to Serena. "And, clearly, yes, you do."

* * *

Adelaide watched as the tall, dark haired man stepped into the corridor. He was on his phone, trying to find out if there was an actual fire or not. He thought he noticed a sideways glance as he walked passed him. Turning back slowly, he made sure the man kept walking. He moved towards the that the man had just left. His heart was slamming against his chest. This was it. This was the end. He was finally going to make his wife proud.

* * *

"I'm perfectly fine," Serena snapped as Jac tried to help her pull her boots on.

"You nearly fell over a minute ago," Jac snapped back. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"_Really_?" Serena paused to look at the younger woman. "That's like asking why _you_ were born with great cheekbones."

"Okay, blame genetics then."

"I will," Serena mumbled as she finally got he last shoe on. "Now, I need some make up."

Jac looked back at her with a blank look.

"You didn't remember the makeup bag?"

"No," she answered.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere looking like this," Serena held out her locker key.

Jac sighed heavily, rolling her eyes as she snatched the key from Serena's hand and headed out the door.

Serena smiled to herself before turning to look out the window. It had gotten dark so quickly. She certainly never thought she'd be spending the night in a hospital bed.

The door opened again.

"Forgotten the number of my locker already?" She smiled, turning to face the door. Her smile faded immediately as she saw Jac staring back at her, a look of fear on her face. Behind her, Adelaide King stood smirking.

"Hello _doc_," he said, holding a scalpel in his left hand.

Serena slowly got to her feet, holding her hands up in defense. "Adelaide," she said, trying to breathe normally. "Let's just calm down."

"Oh, I am calm," he pushed Jac forward and slammed the door behind him.

Serena instinctively grabbed Jac and pulled her as far away from Adelaide as possible. "This doesn't involve Ms Naylor. She has nothing to do with this, so why don't you just let her go?"

"She knows too much," he answered.

"She doesn't _know _anything," she heard herself growl. "She's completely innocent."

"Just like Patricia and Jake," he glanced at Jac and then back at Serena. "But you killed them anyway."

"She didn't kill them," Jac said. "They died because of the accident."

"Jac," Serena warned. "Stay out of this."

Adelaide glared at her. "No! They were fine! And then your friend killed them!"

"Your wife suffered a massive trauma," Serena said. "You know this."

"Don't worry, honey, I'm dealing with her," Adelaide smiled to a figment of his imagination in the corner.

Both women turned to look at who he was talking to. There was no one there.

"Oh great, now he's not only a murderer but he's delusional too," Jac said.

"Everything's going to be fine now," he smiled.

"Distract him," Serena said as she reached down for an empty bed pan.

"How?" Jac whispered, watching him interact with nothing but a shadow.

"Think of _something_," Serena hissed.

"I'm a surgeon, not a psychologist!" Jac hissed back, finally moving to the side. "Who are you talking to, Adelaide?"

The man spun towards her. "My wife."

"There's no one there," Jac shook her head. "You've been injured and you need help."

"No!" Adelaide screamed.

Serena threw the bed pan, knocking Adelaide on the head. He bent over, growling in anger and pain. "Run," Serena shouted, grabbing Jac's arm and literally pulling her out of the room. They were just about out of the door when Adelaide grabbed Serena back, pressing the scalpel up to her neck.

Jac spun around, unable to move. "Wait! Adelaide, wait!"

The man's eyes were unfocused and blood had started to run down his temple.

"This isn't what your family would have wanted," Jac tried to calm him down.

"You wouldn't know," Adelaide hissed, pulling Serena down the corridor with him.

Hanssen and Michael had appeared and both froze.

"Let her go!" Michael shouted.

Adelaide spun around, swinging Serena's body along with his own. "Stay away!"

"Let her go or I swear, you are not walking out of those doors alive."

"Michael, don't," Serena tried to speak, but the scalpel was pressing down on her throat and every movement brought it closer to slicing through.

"Mr King," Hanssen took a step forward. "Perhaps you and I can step into my office and discuss this."

"It's too late for discussions!" He screamed, glancing past Jac and smiling again. "It's okay, baby. Everything's going to be okay."

Hanssen glanced at Jac who just shrugged. "He thinks he's speaking to his wife," she said.

"Oh, a nutcase," Michael said.

"Mr King, please let my consultant go and I assure you, no harm will come to you. Why don't you and I just talk about this?"

"There's nothing to talk about!"

Serena felt him tighten his grip on the scalpel and realized that it was now or never. Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand, pushing it away from her throat while stomping on his foot. He howled in pain, but it gave Michael and Hanssen enough time to tackle him to the ground. Jac grabbed the scalpel, watching as the two men shoved Adelaide down into the floor. He was screaming in anger as two security guards came running in to offer assistance. The police were behind them, clearly not aware of the latest event.

Serena watched as they started to drag him away.

"I'll kill you!" He screamed. "You think you've won? I'll be back!"

Jac helped Hanssen to his feet.

"Thank you," Serena said. "That was . . . dramatic."

"What a rush," Michael tried to regain his breath.

Malik walked in, casually swinging his arms before coming to a complete stop. He glanced from Serena who was leaning against the wall, touching her throat, to Jac who was holding a scalpel, to Hanssen who was staring at the police who were dragging a screaming man out of the building. "What the . . .?"

"You missed it, man," Michael slapped the registrar on the back.

"It's over?"

"For now," Serena nodded, glancing at Hanssen.

"I missed the whole thing?" Malik sputtered. "I always miss _everything_!"


End file.
